Friday, February 26

Lost Friday - "Lighthouse."

Season 6 - Episode 5: "Lighthouse."

Another Lost Friday is upon us; we have much to discuss.

But first, a quick point to be made concerning spoilers.

When referring to a television show, a 'spoiler' is defined as being "Any information about upcoming episodes, including cast, characters, crew, photographs, and synopses, released by any source outside of an official commercial or advertisement. Any and all information is considered a spoiler until it has been revealed in an episode that has aired in the United States."

Wonderful. Please take this in mind the next time you feel you've been 'spoiled,' yet are still three seasons (or even three minutes) behind on Lost. You cannot expect the Internet to screech to a halt and wait for you to catch up. It's just as futile as saying, "I'm two years behind on my political coverage; don't tell me who's President yet!" as you run away, plugging your ears and la-la-la'ing.

In the five-year history of me babbling about Lost on the Internet, the only place where I posted spoilers was in the 'Preview' section of Lost Friday, something I stopped doing a year ago (and always warned the hell out of people about). Ergo, I don't spoil. I have the first 10 episodes of FlashForward sitting in my DVR queue, yet you won't hear me yelling at my television when I see a commercial for a new episode. I'm certain that the commercial doesn't know or care that I'm a half-season behind.

To reiterate: I don't spoil, and remember to tread lightly if you're behind on a TV show.

Let's move on.

Now that the bizarrely-mundane Episode 3 is behind us, we've been hit with back-to-back masterpieces here in Season 6. Mythology abound, huge plot points, Alternate Dimension loonery and the buildup of the final showdown that we've all been waiting for. Our beloved castaways are scattered all over the Island, each completely unaware of the secrets, trials and tribulations they have been through, all leading up to the mother of all misunderstandings. It's a damn good thing that Time Travel is real, demonic possession is rampant, humans can survive H-Bomb blasts and Hurley can communicate with dead people, otherwise Season 6 wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on.

But I kid; I've been enjoying the hell out of Season 6. The Good v. Evil storyline. The methods by which each castaway is coming to terms with their lack of Free Will. The giant, ancient structures that have been completely hidden and undiscovered by the castaways for three entire years. It's all good, man.

(Jack's first day with Photo Booth.)

Since the beginning, I've loved Jack the most when he's suffering off of the Island. His familial struggles, issues with his ex-wife (and now, son), alcoholism and severe depression showcase one of the deepest characters on the show. Furthermore, I also think it shows Matthew Fox at his absolute best. The moments where he was attempting to bond with David this week were astonishingly heartbreaking for me. Taking the time to hook up the cable television in his room so he could watch the baseball game, rushing home with a pizza and soda to hang out with him; these scenes made me want to start crying and never stop. It felt real: Jack was trying too hard to correct the mistakes of his own father, and David simply wasn't having any of it (at least for awhile). All that time spent being the patriarch on Party Of Five must have paid off; there's no denying that Fox is at his best when he's playing a vulnerable, compassionate failure of a success.

As opposed to me, playing a success of a failure. Let's KNOCK IT OUT!

ALTERNATE TIMELINE (2004):

Jack is divorced from a yet-unknown woman, and has a teenage son (David) he's attempting to bond with. Also, he's helping his mother locate his late father's will. When they locate it, they both discover the existence of Claire, and presumably the fact that she was Christian's daughter. After watching David play the piano at a candidate recital, Jack tells him how proud of him he is, and they seem to bond for the time being.

I didn't tear up. I did not tear up. Stop asking me if I teared up.

(Jack scrambles to remember why Haley Joel Osment is in his house.)

CURRENT TIMELINE (2007) - HURLEY AND JACK:

Hurley sees Jacob, who tells him he needs his help on a project. He claims that someone is coming to the Island, and he needs Hurley's help to guide them. Meanwhile, Jack and Sayid talk about his supposed sickness, and how this has apparently already happened to Claire. Hurley convinces Jack to accompany him on his task after reciting to him something that his father used to say. Jack follows him with the demand that he speak to Jacob. On the way, they run into Kate who says that she is looking for Claire.

("You don't have what it takes, David. You don't have...the hair.")

On the way to the lighthouse, Jack and Hurley find themselves in the caves, where Jack sees the empty casket his father should have been in. Upon reaching the lighthouse, Hurley informs Jack that they need to turn the wheel to heading 108. We see that each number represents a different Island inhabitant/candidate (some crossed out, some not), and for each name, a scene from their past is reflected in the lighthouse mirror. When Jack stops on his number (23), he sees his childhood home, which predictably sends him into a tizzy. Jack speculates that Jacob has been watching all of them for their entire lives, and demands to speak to him immediately. When Hurley waffles, Jack destroys the mirrors.

("Have you seen my...CON-DISH-AH-NAHH???")

Afterward, Hurley speaks with Jacob, who informs him that his task was completed. According to Jacob, Jack needed to see how important he was, and explained that he was there to 'do something.' He also explains that he had to get them away from the Temple, because someone bad is about to arrive there. Hurley wants to warn the people at the temple but Jacob explains that it is already too late.

(Jacob's Island Fondue recipe is complicated as shit, yo.)

CURRENT TIMELINE (2007) - CLAIRE'S CAMP:

Claire frees Jin from the trap and lets him know that she has been living in the jungle for the last three years. At her camp, he sees a makeshift doll in Aaron's cradle that's been made out of an animal carcass. Claire brings back Justin with the intent to torture him unless he tells her where Aaron is. She believes that the Others have Aaron, as the Man In Black (disguised as her father, Christian) told her so. Also, she reveals to Jin the scars of torture similar to the ones Sayid received at the hands of the Others. In order to save Justin, Jin comes clean and informs Claire that Kate took Aaron off of the Island. Claire seems interested in this admission, but kills Justin anyway.

(To be honest with you, I feel this is a step up from Aaron.)

In an effort to be set free and save Kate from harm, Jin later tells Claire that he lied in the hope of saving Justin's life and that he had actually seen Aaron at the temple with The Others, and that she will need him to get to Aaron. Claire says that this is good, because if Kate had really taken Aaron she would have to kill her.

(Jack, wracked by the pain of losing his father, sits entranced as his cat defecates on top of his desk for six minutes, doing absolutely nothing to intervene.)

The Man In Black, disguised as Locke, walks in. Jin rhetorically asks whether it is John but Claire says "This is not John, this is my friend," seemingly knowing the truth about the Man In Black.

I boiled it down to essentially nothing here, but this episode was absolutely insane from start to finish. Who knew that Claire could, you know, act?

I kid. Now let's BREAK IT DOWN!

4 - The date of David's recital is Friday the 24th. In 2004, the 24th is a Friday in September, which would place the date of the plane landing at LAX on September 22. Oh, and speaking of David's recital, the sign for it reads 'Welcome All Candidates.'

8 - We see a lot more names and numbers at the lighthouse. Here are a few of them:

Rousseau crossed out at 20.Stanhope crossed out at 48.Austen (Kate) at 51. Austen is not crossed out.Burke crossed out at 58.Faraday (Daniel) crossed out at 101.Wallace crossed out at 108.Friendly (Tom) crossed out at 109.Linus (Ban) crossed out at 117.Dawson crossed out at 124.Littleton (Claire) crossed out at 313.

Take from that what you will. Maybe we will get an American Idol-type finale where we get to call in a vote for who the next Protector of the Island will be. I'm voting for Katherine McPhee.

("You came back to the Island because you thought you were broke and needed fixing; I came back because I left a sandwich here. I'd call it a horse apiece.")

15 - The sheet music in David's room, that he was also playing for his audition, was for Chopin's 'Fantaisie-Impromptu,' which was also the piece that young Daniel Faraday was playing in a Season 5 flashback.

16 - A poster on the wall of David's room advertises the band Meat Coat, which is the band that Charlie tells his brother that they have the chance to open for in LA.

("I was just popping in to collect my check. Did someone say Meat Coat? ")

23 - The church where Sawyer attended his parent's funeral, along with the location where Jin and Sun were married, can be seen in the mirror of the lighthouse (in addition to Jack's childhood home).

42 - Claire's way of life, appearance and behavior mirrors that of Rousseau in many respects. She ties up and tortures an Other in her lair to find out where her child is, similarly to Rousseau torturing someone she mistook as an Other to find Alex.

("David, who was I married to?")

Well, there you have it. Another fantastic episode of Lost in the books. Sound off in the comments section and enjoy your day. The CDP Worldwide Mix-Tape Trade #7 kicks off Monday; until then, here are links to every Lost Friday so far this season, along with some other random goodness to get you through the weekend. Enjoy.